by Cicely Richard

Created on: October 04, 2008   Last Updated: February 01, 2009

In the United States of America, Christopher Columbus has a dual persona. On one hand, every October, Christopher Columbus Day commemorates his historic voyage in 1492. He is hailed as a celebrated hero, the discoverer of the New World. On the other hand, Columbus is a villain who murdered thousands of Native Americans. Although it's been a federally recognized holiday since 1934, there have been many who have voiced their objections to celebrating a man whom they believe had blood on his hands. So, what is the truth about Christopher Columbus?

Christopher Columbus was born on 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, Italy. He was the son of a weaver named Domenico and a mother named Susanna Fontanarossa. He was raised along with four other siblings. From a middle-class upbringing, he would have a pivotal role in shaping world history.

Columbus tasted the salty sea air for the first time when he was only 14 years old. He joined several trading voyages along the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. During one of his travels, he went to the Greek island, Khios. This is the closest he would ever get to Asia, although the exotic orient would remain on his mind until his death. The next trip for the intrepid young man would take him beyond the confines of the Mediterranean and into wide-open ocean.

In 1476, he made his first Atlantic trip on as a member of a commercial fleet. He almost died when French privateers attacked and burned the vessel off the Portuguese coast. Columbus had to swim to the shore. He eventually settled in Lisbon, Portugal, and married Felipa Perestrello, a woman of noble birth. They had one son, Diego, in 1480. Unfortunately, Felipa died shortly. In 1488, he had an illegitimate son named Fernando by a woman named Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.

Columbus participated in voyages along Africa and learned about Atlantic currents. His intention was to find a western trade route that would lead to the East, a lucrative commercial venture. After he was rejected by a number of ruling nations, Spanish monarchs Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon finally financed his journey amid a myriad of skepticism. In 1492, Columbus left Spain in his three ships and headed west for the first of four voyages.

Columbus didn't discover a new world; a number of native cultures already existed there and prehistory states that Europeans may have traveled there as well. It was an accident that he and his crew came across the Caribbean Islands and its inhabitants whom they called Indians. He called them Indians because he mistakenly thought he had reached India. He claimed a number of these placed for Spain and went back with fanciful tales of wealth and riches.

He returned to Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) to find many of the men he left behind dead. Then, he enslaved the natives, forcing them to work under his authority. He went on to overtake other regions of South and Central America for Spain. Eventually, he returned to Spain because of some of the atrocities he committed. Although charges were dropped, he lost his title. He finally died on May 20, 1506, still believing he had discovered the western route to India.

Oddly enough, Christopher Columbus never set foot on North American soil and finding the Western Hemisphere was a big mistake. Yet, year after year, the United States hails him for sailing there and paving the way for other explorers. On the other hand, the trail of death and the obliteration of entire native races is the black mark on his name. Whatever a person thinks about the man, one truth about Christopher Columbus that is undeniable is that he was an adventurous spirit.

Source:

http://www.biography.com/columbus/colu mbus-bio.jsp

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